


Das Wiegenlied (The Lullaby)

by the_westwood_king



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Dark Thoughts, Fluffy, German lullaby, Jim's demons, M/M, Nightmare, Sebastian comforting Jim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-21 04:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3676707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_westwood_king/pseuds/the_westwood_king
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were few things - hardly any - that scared the consulting criminal, but his mind was on the top of that list. He could never remember those nightmare fully, which made it difficult to really know what they meant or if they were just those demons deciding to torment him. Despite those horrible things all in his head, tonight Sebastian was insistent.</p><p>Sebastian hums a gentle German lullaby to help clam down Jim after one of his nightmares to lull him back asleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Das Wiegenlied (The Lullaby)

Darkness surrounded him like a tunnel without light, no escape, no end. An endless sheet of black, a starless night's sky. Nothing. _Empty_. Bare. Every turn brought a new scare, a new demon to face. He didn't feel strong enough to fight them off. They swallowed him like he was a mere crumb on a plate, left after an afternoon snack. That's what he felt like anymore to these demons; a snack. And not a good one.

  
Ruthless and cruel. No mercy, no caring. Just devouring him. Tearing him apart though he couldn't tell if they were eating him from the inside or out. Ripping, _shredding_ , tearing.

  
Pain was everywhere with no relief. But it was all in his head for sure. He look perfectly fine on the outside, the epitome of put-together and fine. No demons chasing him trough endless tunnels, no monsters ripping him apart. Normal. Fine. Okay.

  
Those dark, hallow eyes were the together the away. One look into them at the right moment would let anyone see inside, to see the hurt, the pain, the want to end it all.  
That darkness was all his head was filled with. The night's sky stole the stars from within him and left him without a spark. And what's the point of darkness if not to be filled with light and life?

  
What was life anymore? Sure it had it's up and downs, it's good moments and it's bad. But for the most part, the bad was always overshadows those few goods.

  
Laughing in the kitchen was replaced with a fight that took place there and ended with four plates broken. Cuddling on the couch turned to the time they nearly destroyed the flat with another fight. The first 'I love you' from him turned into the time he left and didn't come back for two weeks; wouldn't even reply to a text or answer a phone call.  
Everything was ruined because of the darkness and the hatred that filled every inch of his mind. His body was a mess of flames fueled by anger, shadows devouring him and yet, one speck of light remained in his his very damaged soul.

  
The light that comforted him, protected him and loved him.

  
He had many names, the person who put this light back into James' soul and slowly started to put his shattered pieces back together perhaps even without even knowing it. Sebastian. Sebby. Tiger. Moran. Whatever name he chose to call the larger man, he always meant the same things; Protection, love and _home_.

**~*~**

  
Without this man, he would have given into those demons years ago. But there they were, three years into their relationship and Sebastian was still with him, hugging him, kissing him, worshiping him.

  
Hardly had anything had changed in their life but...he felt lighter. That maybe an invisible weight was lifted off his shoulders or a star was put back into him.

  
That wasn't to say that those dark days didn't still come because they did. Oh how they came and they nearly destroyed Jim. The demons ripping at him, wanting to end him only if he would give in to their pull. But then-- a memory of that ridiculous yet handsome shark-like grin or those grey eyes flashed in his mind and scared those demons away like dogs with their tails between their quaking legs.

  
Jim would never admit it, but Sebastian had saved him from himself, saved him from his nightmares.

  
**~*~**

  
He couldn't remember much of it, just flashes of the nightmare that stuck fear straight into his heart and made him tremble.

  
_A faceless beast chasing him through a dark alleyway, growling and shouting. Sounds echoing so loud they made his head pout, or maybe that was his heart pounding so fast. / He tripped and just kept falling. / His head madecontact with a brick wall. / Was that his blood on his hands and that was leaking down those white bricks? / He was trembling and his vision was unfocused and blurry. / a howl in the distance. / All of a sudden, the faceless beast was before him again, pinning him to the wall, saliva dripping from it's bloody fangs but it had no mandible or eyes or even a nose. Just a long muzzle, cat-like ears and a body like a man and claws of a bear. / Those claws tore into him._

He was certain he let out a blood curdling scream as he shot up in bed, clutching his blanket to his sweaty chest, ebony hair falling in front of his wide deer-in-headlight eyes that blinked into the dark room. His breath was quick and shallow as he tried to get oxygen back into his burning lungs.

  
There was a rustling beside him, the mattress dipping as a weight rolled over, muscular arms wrapping around his trembling frame that caused him to jump with a hitch to his breathing.

  
" s'okay, Jimmy.." Sebastian hummed sleepily, his voice heavy and thick, his eyes still closed as Jim slowly laid down again and curled into that wonderfully toned chest. "Just sleep, love. I got ya.."

  
Shaking his head, Jim took a deep breath to take in Sebastian's calming scent of gun power, cheap cologne and simple comfort. It was not alright and he probably wouldn't get anymore sleep, not after such a nightmare. He never could in the past. Most nights, after he was woken up by a dream, he would lie awake in Sebastian's arms and focus on his breathing, studying his face and trying to relax. Sleep never came to him nor did he ever relax fully. It just wasn't happening. Every little noise would startle him and he was never sure if he was truly awake or if it was just another part of that cruel dream trying to bring him to tears.

  
There were few things - hardly any - that scared the consulting criminal, but his mind was on the top of that list. He could never remember those nightmare fully, which made it difficult to really know what they meant or if they were just those demons deciding to torment him. Despite those horrible things all in his head, tonight Sebastian was insistent.

"I mean it, Jimmy... Try and get some more sleep. You've hardly slept in the last three days. You're running on five hours of sleep and that's not healthy.." Sebastian mumbled before he pressed a gentle kiss to Jim's forehead and pulled him close despite the dampness of his t-shirt. The blonde knew how, despite Jim's protest, he really did like being held close and comforted after a nightmare and Sebastian really didn't mind. But he had a to something more to get Jim to sleep at least for another hour or so.

  
The first thing that came to mind was to get up and get Jim a cup of tea, but then again, Sebastian didn't want to get up himself so that was out of question. Instead he did the next best thing that he could think of in the short couple of moments.

  
He started out slowly, his voice rumbling in his chest, despite being just woke up it was still pleasant. The lullaby his mother used to sing him when he was younger  floated from his lips next to Jim's ear.

  
"Wiegenlied, Wiegenlied, meine Schöne  
Schließen Sie die Augen und träumen süß  
Wiegenlied, Wiegenlied, meine Schöne  
Schlafen Sie in silbrigen Mondlicht die Träume  
Oben so langsam segeln durch  
Der Mond streift über den Himmel  
Wiegenlied, Wiegenlied, meine Schöne  
Schließen Sie die Augen und träumen süß"

  
As he sang - or more or less hummed - the lyrics to the German lullaby, Sebastian could feel Jim relax in his arms but he didn't quite feel the brunette fall asleep again so he sang it again and would until he felt Jim slip back into a more relaxed sleep.

  
It took all of three times before the soft singing of those soft German words shut off Jim's mind and allowed him to slip back into a much needed, restful sleep. Though he didn't know what those words meant, they seemed so calming coming from Sebastian's tongue that he just didn't care and he let them envelop him and block out the world. The only thing that mattered now was Sebastian, his singing and sleep. And he swore, that light in his soul seemed to get a little brighter and lock away more of his demons.  
Slowly but surly, with every little caring action, Sebastian was saving Jim and giving him the will to live on.

  
The nights may seem bleak and never ending, but with Sebastian's help, Jim could find the light to escape that darkness and come out better than before.

  
Sebastian was all he needed. Sebastian and his lullabies.  
  
  
  


 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I do apologize if the German is translated wrong as I do not speak it myself so I had to rely on Google translate for the correct translations.
> 
> I do hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I did enjoy writing it.
> 
> Translation:  
> Lullaby, lullaby, my lovely one  
> Close your eyes and sweetly dream  
> Lullaby, lullaby, my lovely one  
> Sleep in moonlight's silvery dreams  
> Up above so slowly sailing by  
> The moon roams across the sky  
> Lullaby, lullaby, my lovely one  
> Close your eyes and sweetly dream


End file.
